Background: Enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) syndrome can mimic otosclerosis in adults, presenting with an air-bone gap (ABG) and even absent stapedial reflexes. The ABG in inner-ear disorders is currently the object of several authors' studies and seems to be related to a third mobile window (TMW) phenomenon. This can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Given that it would be inappropriate and harmful to perform CT scans in all patients with a clinical diagnosis of otosclerosis, this study aims to highlight some clinical features useful for the differential diagnosis between otosclerosis and these rare cases of EVA presenting with an ABG, thus enabling the identification of suspected cases to be tested with CT scans.
Methods: Between April and May 2024, a narrative review was conducted focusing on the differential diagnosis between some rare cases of EVA and otosclerosis. Clinical, audiological, and radiologic features of both conditions were investigated.
Results: This review demonstrates the diagnostic challenge in differentiating atypical cases of EVA from otosclerosis in a subset of patients. Clinical and audiological features are important for differential diagnosis, but may not always be sufficient. Therefore, high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the temporal bone plays a pivotal role in definitive diagnosis.
Conclusions: In some specific cases, pre-operative imaging assessment using HRCT emerges as an essential tool for differentiating these two conditions and avoiding unnecessary stapes surgery.
Keywords: air–bone gap (ABG); conductive hearing loss (CHL); dead ear; enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA); gusher syndrome; mixed hearing loss (MHL); otosclerosis; stapes surgery; third mobile window (TMW).